Your morning jolt: About the debt-ceiling crisis and unemployment checks
Five paragraphs into a piece on Georgia’s preparations for a drought of federal funds – if debt-ceiling talks in Washington collapse – Blake Aued of the Athens Banner-Herald has this calamitous line:
If the debt ceiling is not raised, unemployment checks could stop immediately….
But you can unwad that underwear. Brian Robinson, spokesman for Gov. Nathan Deal and the source cited for the above information, says it’s not going to happen.
“We’ve been given no reason to believe there will be funding disruptions. This is not a government shutdown,” Robinson said this morning. “We don’t think unemployment checks will stop immediately.”
Robinson said that the point he was trying to make is that programs that are jointly funded by federal and state governments – Medicaid and PeachCare, for instance – could be carried by the state for an extra two weeks in an emergency.
But unemployment checks, while administered by the state Department of Labor, are completely funded through the federal government.
“If there was a dramatic decline in federal funding available, we would have to wait for the Obama Administration to prioritize the bills and decide what to pay,” Robinson said. “We see no reason to believe that there’s any scenario where people would not get their unemployment checks.”
Last week, the state Department of Labor issued unemployment checks to 181,665 people for a total of $47.5 million, according to department spokesman Sam Hall.
***
In an interview with Rob Johnson on WGST (640AM) this morning, U.S. Rep. Tom Price, R-Roswell, strongly hinted that he’ll vote for the revised debt-ceiling/deficit reduction package pitched by House Speaker John Boehner – if he can be assured that House Republicans will be allowed to vote on a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced federal budget on Friday.
“Companioned with a balance budget amendment,” Price said, “That’s a reasonable course of action at this time.” The congressman, of course, added that the Boehner package doesn’t include as many budget cuts that he’d ideally like to see.
***
As many have suspected, the Atlanta Public Schools system may not be alone. From the Detroit Free Press:
One out of three public school educators report pressure from bosses, parents or others to change grades, and nearly 30% say pressure to cheat on standardized tests is a problem at their school, according to a voluntary Free Press survey of Michigan educators.
At schools that don’t meet federal standards, the tension is higher: About 50% say pressure to change grades is an issue, and 46% say pressure to cheat on the tests is a problem.
Some cave in — about 8% say they changed grades within the last school year, and at least 8% admit to some form of cheating to improve a student’s standardized test score.
***
From down in south Georgia, Sid Cottingham points one and all to this heart-breaking piece in the New York Times:
An image of the peach is on the official state quarter and its license plates. In Atlanta, where a giant peach drops from a downtown building each New Year’s Eve, a driver can get lost among all the streets with variations on the name Peachtree.
But here is the harsh truth: South Carolina has shipped out more than twice as many peaches as Georgia so far this summer. And it has been that way for years.
It gets worse. At the end of July, the University of Georgia will officially close its peach program. The head peach horticulturist left the job a couple of years ago. When budgets tightened recently, university officials decided to simply eliminate the position altogether. (Programs for blueberries and vegetables had to go, too.)
- By Jim Galloway, Political Insider
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90 comments Add your comment
clean up your yard
July 28th, 2011
12:30 pm
A Conservative Voice You appear to be a complete nitwit.
CW
July 28th, 2011
12:30 pm
Dear Retired Soldier,
Analysis is from The Guardian. Not sure what your point is re bills: Senate was waiting for the party of 6; the issue was tax cuts and Republicans made it clear, none, zero, nada, end of debate and now the confrontation.
Re Iraq and available intelligence: there were two sources of intelligence available to Bush and his vulcans: State Dept intelligence stated there were no WMDs, they were ignored, and the UN weapons inspectors, who found no WMDs, and requested repeatedly for US intelligence on where US said WMDs were, but US refused and called tham liars.
US is not a member of ICC, so the issue of legality has not been tested. Certainly a war of choice under false pretenses, possibly illegal based on no attack on US by Iraq and failure to get UN approval (Blair insisted upon a second UN vote that never took place) so there was no UN sanction for Iraq war. Only one of the above is required for a legal war, and neither existed. Obama has not left precipitously because he trying to get out in a responsible way — he does not like the war, but is trying to do the right for US and Iraq.
td
July 28th, 2011
12:31 pm
CW
July 28th, 2011
11:56 am
Straight off the Huffington post. Let us re write history. First: Who was in charge of Congress when Clinton balanced the budget? Newt, maybe we should rethink electing him President. Go read the DICK Morris book on how Clinton took Newts plan, claimed it as his own and had the main stream media write the narrative.
This war cost is a partial myth. They are counting the pay of the troops and normal maintenance in the cost. Our military is still going to have to train and use munitions no matter if we are at war or on a base. The real cost is us nation building the countries and that is caused by you liberals. Most neocons are from the old school that says if you go to war then you beat them down enough so that they lose the will to fight and then you leave with the military and you let someone like the UN come in and rebuild the nation.
The Snark
July 28th, 2011
12:32 pm
The President had completely wound down our combat operations in Iraq and has approved a drawdown on a strict timetable, over objections from some in the armed forces, from Afghanistan. It looks to me like he is keeping his promise to extricate us from those wars, albeit more slowly than many would like.
clean up your yard
July 28th, 2011
12:33 pm
Bush came into the WH with invading Iraq on his agenda- even after Britain told him that there were no wmds. Cheney was the point man and lied us into the war with their scare tactics- remember the mushroom cloud comments from Rumsfield, Rice, and the rest??
dixiesdemons
July 28th, 2011
12:35 pm
@ RetiredSoldier
Bills start in the house and then go to the Senate and then to the Pres for a signature. The Pres doesn’t write plans ( bills) he tells the Congress what his bottom line is and where he may compromise on. ( he still has the Constitutional Authority to use…. .. what’s that thing called ???? oh yeah … the VETO ) It can been insightful and entertaining to express our opinions on these blogs. It is not our responsibility to write and pass legislation that benefits the greater good and keeps our country safe and sound. It is is J Bo’s because he is the Speaker of the House. The Tea Party Terrorists did not cause the problems we are faced with. I think they may be able to force a solution that will turn out good in the long run. In the mean time J Bo is wasting time , playing games pushing legislation that has no support outside of the GOP and conservative talk shows. when the government can’t pay its bills , we all end up suffering. I JUST HOPE THE CUTS START IN J_BO’s &THE TEA PARTY DISTRICTS FIRST. Welcome to class warfare.
clean up your yard
July 28th, 2011
12:38 pm
td Dick Morris- Dick Morris??? Why would ANYONE read anything that liar has to say. He has made a living sucking up to Faux news with his lies. We are still trying to bail out of the mess that your Bush left us in. Clinton left him a surplus- he quickly turned it into a deficit. Read facts much??? By the way- the wealthiest among us that you repubs want to keep in money so they will hire the unemployed- guess what- they have no intention of hiring the unemployed.
GaBlue
July 28th, 2011
12:38 pm
Retired Soldier,
I’m sorry, Sir. I know loyalty is part of your make-up, and I respect that, but BUSH LIED about many things.
Furthermore, when it was required of him to tell exactly what he knew about the attacks of 9/11, (like everyone else had done), and he was unable to stall or deflect that duty any longer, he refused to do so until his demands were met: NO swearing to tell the truth, NO transcript, NO reporters, Cheney by his side at all times (and a pack of Hawaiin Punch juice boxes w/a plate of Chips Ahoy). If he didn’t LIE and didn’t do anything wrong, why all the secrets? I’ll tell you why: HE LIED. Bless your heart.
td
July 28th, 2011
12:39 pm
A Conservative Voice
July 28th, 2011
12:09 pm
I agree with you on everything except the 1% national sales tax. I do not want any more doors opened up to the government to get their hands on any more money. I can assure you that the 1% would be 2, 5, 10 within 10 years. Look at the history of the VAT’s in Europe and go back and look at how the liberals promised us to begin with that the income tax was only 5% and was being set up for only the rich.
clean up your yard
July 28th, 2011
12:42 pm
Taxes pay for the country that you enjoy clem. You do understand that right?
Centrist
July 28th, 2011
12:46 pm
If a strong majority of Americans wanted tax increases, they would not have elected the Taxed Enough Already (TEA) party members with a Republican majority in the U.S. House. THAT poll speaks volumes and is MUCH more representative than the leftist pushpolls DannyX touts.
td
July 28th, 2011
12:47 pm
clean up your yard
July 28th, 2011
12:20 pm
“And the least of us? Forget about it. Jesus would be so proud.”
Why is it my responsibility to take care of you? Did you have the opportunity to get an education? What choices have you made that would make you not able to take care of yourself and your family?
clean up your yard
July 28th, 2011
12:47 pm
Like that makes any sense.
clean up your yard
July 28th, 2011
12:49 pm
Your greedy attitude is the perfect poster child for a big reason why we have become what we are.
mum
July 28th, 2011
12:50 pm
Centrist, the problem is that those same TEA people don’t want anyone to touch the government programs that they enjoy, paid for by taxes. You can’t have it both ways.
CW
July 28th, 2011
12:54 pm
Dear td,
Regardless of Congressional control during Clinton Admin, taxes were higher than they are now, the economy was strong and the deficit falling. I assume you would view that positively. That reality is contrary to the assertions made by Republicans now about the harm “higher” taxes would do to the economy. Re the cost of war: You are suggesting that the number of soldiers did not increase (tell that to the National Guards and Reserves) and that munitions would be used at comparable levels in peace time as in war. Maybe a Rebublican dream, but the costs of war and the costs during peace are not comparable. Not to mention the pain and suffering to our soldiers and families (some soldier have had 4-5 tours — that is cruel and inhumane), and the hundres of thousands of Iraq civilians killed. Yeah, I guess they are about the same in war and peace.
td
July 28th, 2011
12:57 pm
Isis5761
July 28th, 2011
12:23 pm
The Dems controlled the hose of reps since 2006. I am glad to see you are educated enough to think that a President (any President) has the ability to force a world wide recession.
“destroy collective bargaining (labor rights)”
Why is it a Presidents job to protect collective barginning? This is the government intervention that has caused a great deal of the messes we are in now.
“create a hardship for social security”
Bush tried to protect Social Security for future generations but the Dems refused to allow individuals to invest 5% of their money.
clean up your yard
July 28th, 2011
1:09 pm
td The goal of Bush and repubs is to replace social security with individual investments- AND you know it. The original plan was to get the snout under the tent
and then replace SS- also replace education with private schools. ANYTHING to prop up big business and take care of the wealthy.
Jerandious
July 28th, 2011
1:12 pm
“If the debt ceiling is not raised, unemployment checks could stop immediately….”
That might be the best thing that could happen. It would motivate so many loafers and goldbricks to go back to work. Right now, depending on what state one lives in, they can get welfare benefits for up to 36 months (thanks to Obama) while they sit at home and watch TV. What a country!
RetiredSoldier
July 28th, 2011
1:13 pm
Clean up your yard-
You are entitled to your opinion. You are not entitled to your own facts. Don’t you hate when facts get in the way of your opinion?
A Conservative Voice
July 28th, 2011
1:13 pm
@mum
July 28th, 2011
12:28 pm
Conservative Voice: You do realize that this debt ceiling thing is for money that’s already been spent, just like using a credit card. You either pay your monthly payment on time or they raise your rate of suspend your credit. an Amex. Shut the national parks and let them return to their natural state? Dissolve the DOE and then who decides who and what our children are taught? If you cut 50% of government (whateverit takes likely will mean workers as well) so you then you up the unemployment rate. Foreign aid is a flea flicker compared to how much the military spends, not to mention the healthcare costs. Don’t know where you live but I thought everyone pays sales tax?
One by one -
Debt Ceiling – Yes, I do know that…..if we can’t borrow, we shouldn’t spend
National Parks – Should be closed until we can afford to re-open. Mostly people we don’t have to pay
USDOE – All they do is create useless regulations – States Rights is the answer to this one.
Agencies cut 50% – That’s right, it means people, sorry, we can’t afford to pay unemployment benefits at this time
Foreign aid – this is a non-essential expenditure, don’t care how much it is
National Sales Tax – You were so quick to criticize you didn’t read it correctly. Are you a product of the APS?
A Conservative Voice
July 28th, 2011
1:18 pm
@clean up your yard
July 28th, 2011
12:30 pm
A Conservative Voice You appear to be a complete nitwit.
Thank you very much for the compliment
and right back at you.
Have you put your plan on the table?
RetiredSoldier
July 28th, 2011
1:18 pm
dixie-
You need to go back to PS101 if you believe that. Why is Reid proposing a senate bill that hasn’t come to a vote yet?
td
July 28th, 2011
1:18 pm
clean up your yard
July 28th, 2011
12:49 pm
I pay taxes and do not have a problem with paying my fair share to pay for the roads, police and fire protection, the education of my children and for the military to protect my family. I pay into a social security system (that I know I will never see my investment) and pay into medicare.
I do have a major problem with paying for people that choose to not be productive citizens. I went through the 1-12 and learned enough to get me accepted to a college. I choice to not do drugs or drink or have unprotected sex so that I could pay my way through college. I worked a great deal of unpleasant jobs to pay for college and took several dead end jobs after college to establish a work history. Now those sacrifices I choose to make are paying off and I pay my fair share to my county, state and country. My total tax rate (after deductions for these taxes are around 30%). I live a meager life. Bought a house within my means, just bought the first brand new car in my life, limit myself to eating out to one to two times per month and put away 10% of a salary for retirement.
Why should I pay more now to take care of people that have not made any sacrifices and choose to not get educated and wanted to party instead of getting any work experience? If you want to call that greedy then so be it but I call it making wise choices and preparing for the future. Again why should I want to pay for people that choose not to make wise choices?
A Conservative Voice
July 28th, 2011
1:20 pm
@td
July 28th, 2011
12:39 pm
A Conservative Voice
July 28th, 2011
12:09 pm
I agree with you on everything except the 1% national sales tax. I do not want any more doors opened up to the government to get their hands on any more money. I can assure you that the 1% would be 2, 5, 10 within 10 years. Look at the history of the VAT’s in Europe and go back and look at how the liberals promised us to begin with that the income tax was only 5% and was being set up for only the rich.
Yeah, there would probably have to be a time limit put on it -word it to say it will be cancelled when a BBA is adopted.
td
July 28th, 2011
1:30 pm
CW
July 28th, 2011
12:54 pm
Taxes were 4% higher on the top 5% under Clinton. CNN did a story last week that stated if they were restored then it would mean an additional $81 billion per year. I think I heard yesterday that we are borrowing $4 billion per day. How is this really going to help balance a budget much less pay off a $15 trillion debt.
The top 5% ($250,000 and over) already pay 40% of all taxes while the bottom 48% pay nothing. If you raise taxes on them then they will be paying 50% of all federal taxes. How much is enough? Why can not the bottom 48% have a little skin in the game?
CW
July 28th, 2011
1:38 pm
Dear td,
The idea was a combination of budget cuts and tax increases to reduce the deficit, not by taxes alone. Budget cuts would include stopping 2 wars, reducing the Defense budget, cutting entitlement programs (an assumption since I have not seen any specifics re what was on the table) among many areas to be cut. While the top 5% pay 40% of the taxes, no one mentions how much wealth they control. I cannot address the top 5%, but I believe the top 10% control 80% of the wealth. One might suggest that the top 5% are getting off easy.
RetiredSoldier
July 28th, 2011
1:42 pm
CW-
What difference is it how much wealth someone controls? Unless they got it by illegal means it is not my, yours or the governments business how much wealth someone has. Last time I checked this is still America.
clean up your yard
July 28th, 2011
1:43 pm
td Thank you for bringing into focus the thoughts of so many on your side. Who gives you the right o diminish a whole group of peope that have lost their jobs? How dare you protray them as somehow lesser than you and the other good little repubs just because they have lost their jobs. You better remember that there but for the grace of God go you. How dare you protray all of those that get SSI, food stamps or other assistance as shiftless, worthless or watch tv all day. There is this air of superiority that precedes those of you on the right and you love to point fingers at those that you feel so superior to. The poor, unemployed, black and brown, immigrants, democrats, anyone that disagrees with your beliefs that you should get your way; because you are entitled and masters of the universe. You are in afor a rude awakening one day. You are not nearly as smart as you think and you are certainly no important to God than that poor unemployed painter on the corner holding a sign. Cast the beam out of your own eye and then you can more clearly see to pull the beam out of your brother’s eye.
clean up your yard
July 28th, 2011
1:45 pm
RetiredSoldier The wealthy have not paid their fair share for over 10 years. it is past time for them to do so. We cannot allow these cuts to be paid for alone by the poor and elderly.
CW
July 28th, 2011
1:49 pm
Dear Retire Soldier,
The idea, admittedly not a direct correlation, is that the more wealth you have the more income you have and the more taxes you pay, so if one group owns 80% of the country and pays 40% of the taxes, one can make a plausible argument that they are paying roughly 50% of what they should be paying. To say that 5% pay 40% of the taxes lacks context, it is a misleading argument.
mum
July 28th, 2011
2:18 pm
ConservativeVoice, I can read very well thanks. Where I went to school, they actually taught us to read at a very early age, and our tests were not multiple choice. This has been a lively discussion, so no need for insults!
Now, back to the discussion. How do you think 1% in addition to the state tax might go over given the no new taxes/revenues pledges?
td
July 28th, 2011
2:37 pm
clean up your yard
July 28th, 2011
1:43 pm
Talk about reading into something that is not even there. Please show me where I “diminished” the unemployed? I know what it is like to to be unemployed. I know what it is like to have to work a job way below my job skills level and at 1/3 my previous wages. But guess what, I took the job and got two more part time jobs until I could get a better job.
Now as far as the racist bull. I am married to a legal Asian immigrant, so please go somewhere else with that one. I know plenty of black and brown people that have made great choices in their lives and are doing very well and are prepared in case bad times hit.
“You are not nearly as smart as you think”
I know I am not smart and strive everyday to learn more and more. I do know that I have worked hard, sacrificed and made pretty good choices. I also know that I was smart enough to listen to my parents, family, pastors and teachers to send me in the right direction. As far as taking care of the poor, I think the bible says that is the churches job and that is where it should be at. Government should get out of this business because they can not tell them the truths they need to hear.
clean up your yard
July 28th, 2011
2:47 pm
Why should I pay more now to take care of people that have not made any sacrifices and choose to not get educated and wanted to party instead of getting any work experience?
I do have a major problem with paying for people that choose to not be productive citizens.
I believe those were two comments. Among others before
td
July 28th, 2011
3:02 pm
clean up your yard
July 28th, 2011
2:47 pm
And were those comments attended for the unemployed like you said they were?
Can you answer those questions? Why should I have to pay more now to take care of people that are unwilling (not the ones that can not) to take care of themselves or have made poor choices of not getting an educations, taking drugs, becoming a drunk or having children when they can not afford to take care of them?
A Conservative Voice
July 28th, 2011
3:41 pm
@mum
July 28th, 2011
2:18 pm
ConservativeVoice, I can read very well thanks. Where I went to school, they actually taught us to read at a very early age, and our tests were not multiple choice. This has been a lively discussion, so no need for insults!
Now, back to the discussion. How do you think 1% in addition to the state tax might go over given the no new taxes/revenues pledges?
ummmmmm……I don’t know…..I didn’t say anything about a state tax
Immediately institute a 1% National Sales Tax
Teddy Roosevelt
July 28th, 2011
6:58 pm
Well Isis5761, when he came into office the Democrats controlled both houses, but don’t let facts get in the way of your argument.
Teddy Roosevelt
July 28th, 2011
7:00 pm
Mum maybe it would be a good idea for you to decide what your children should and shouldn’t be taught. Instead of one centralized department deciding a standardized learning regimen, why doesn’t the local PTA or school board decide what will be taught in their schools?
July 29th, 2011
12:03 pm
clean up your yard <- Has far too much time on his hands, and is much too bitter as well.
Methinks the sir doth protest too much.
Hide-n-seek
July 29th, 2011
12:11 pm
“But unemployment checks, while administered by the state Department of Labor, are completely funded through the federal government.” REALLY??????? As a Georgia employer who has been paying unemployment taxes, I would like to know where my money has been going.